The JCH Leica M2 Patina Edition *Update*

The JCH Leica M2 Patina Edition *Update* You might remember the Patina edition camera that I had made last month. Well, I felt that it wasn’t finished and it wasn’t really looking the way I had really wanted, so I went back to the drawing board and now it is finally complete. Last month I wrote about the Patina effect camera that I had created for me by Kanto, and many people remarked how it looked incomplete or unfinished. This was my feeling too. So I decided that it needed to go back and have a few extra things done to it. And Kanto got them done in record time too.

When I commissioned this camera I was hoping for something with a ‘steampunk’ type effect, but it wasn’t really there in the previous version. So, I had the original leatherette removed and had it replaced with a dark brown soft hide leather, giving it a much more worn effect that compliments the green nicely.

I also decided to have the dials stripped to the brass. Some suggested shiny dials and levers, but I thought it would look much better with unpolished ones that would take a shine over time with continued use. This has given the exact effect I had envisioned when I decided I wanted to push the boundaries of what could be done in customizing a classic Leica.

And it seems this camera is really divisive too. I have had some people calling it heresy and others saying it is the most beautiful camera that they have ever seen. I am happy that I have been able to finish the camera the way I had wanted it. Now I have to decide as to wether I keep it or sell it to fund the next project.

What do you think? Something you would use, or would rather be seen dead with? If you would like to get a camera like this (or something even wilder) made for you then contact me and we can make it happen. Please comment too. What camera would you do and how would you do it?

About The Author

Camera hunter, photographer, camera geek, Tokyoite and Englishman all rolled into one gracefully balding package. I have been living and working in Tokyo for 14 years now and it is my home. Tokyo is heaven for cameras and I know the secret spots and special places.
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23 Comments

Carlos on December 20, 2014 at 6:55 pm

Typical, you customize a valuable object more and more to your optimum like, regardless of any public taste, just to then give it away, or sell it. That’s happening in many other areas. I don’t want to judge it. But that way, the very personal touch of an unknown gets irrelevant to me, as it actually in contrary to the intend does not connect to the owner for use purposes. I was sharing the appreciation to modify it to the unknowns person taste far more, and was waiting for its use and photography with that same owner’s view of composition style whether it’d fit the camera style or bring further the personal perception of composition… But again, it’s just only a style object that has to go for sale, not inspired by its own life, yet.

Pretty cool! Definitely looks like a work of art – and art is a personal thing (unless it’s commercial) so it should reflect on your own style. I like that the effect makes it a conversation starter and a personal object that tells a story, unlike the sterile ‘perfection’ people seem to seek out of modern objects.

Loving the copper-brass color of the lever and dials. I think it would be smashing to see a combo of copper and black, don’t you think?

While I think the brown and brass, I just can’t stand the rest of the body. Maybe it looks better in person? I think you should keep it, after all you’ve put all that effort into making it how you like it. Michael

I like the patina of age, it’s what makes a camera unique. This Leica looks instantly distressed, without any of the scuffs a camera picks up naturally. Off the peg antiquity is not a good look in any object, and cameras are no exception.

Awesome!!! That is so kickass. You should do this on a Leica IIIC, too! Or a Fed-2, Zeiss Ikonta 520/2, Kodak Retina IIA, Contax II or IIA, Exakta Varex VX, Alpa 4/5/6, Pentacon FM…so many cameras would look good in this finish.

With the black leather I did not like at, and to be honest, I didn’t like it with the brown leather, it is ugly, but the more I look, the better it gets. I think you’ve hit exactly what you wanted, it looks perfect and I’m really starting to like it.

Hi Bellamy, IMO, what you have done is turn that camera into a unique artwork to be admired for its steam-punk aesthetic — and in so doing, you have certainly transcended the decadent relicising trend engaged in by some guitar manufacturers and have created an object fit for display in an art museum.

Of course, each of us can decorate our cameras in any way we like — and it’s always good to be creative — but I prefer to keep my cameras (and guitars) in as pristine condition as possible — while allowing for the inevitably occurring marks of real-world usage. As for the M2, I prefer the original aesthetic of the camera, as designed by Leica. But each to their own . . .

I think your customized M2 is really good and does have a sort of Steampunk vibe to it. I don’t what your expert used to get the verdegris patina but I am an etcher, work on copper and use Ferric Chloride (Dutch Mordant) to bite into the metal. This may give you similar effects. I don’t think I would like to experiment on my own M2 though, a lot of trial and error may be required!

Well, I am a bit on the fence with this one … the chrome/brass combo is not consistent to my eyes, and if I would have it, then I would get rid of the selftimer and the frames lever and the strap eyelets too. :) This camera begs to be used, often!

Definitely a look that grows on you. Well, at least for me. Looking at it for the third time now, I beginning to think it’s really quite something. Maybe not beautiful in the traditional sense, but certainly a visual enigma. I would love to see how it ages with use. My only gripe with it as a functional camera (if it is still meant to be one) is the lack of visually-distinct shutter speed markings; I imagine it would be a bit of challenge setting the right shutter speed in low light.